44th Session of the Human Rights Council
Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions
44th Session of the Human Rights Council continued discussions on Item 3 of its Agenda
Statement by
H.E. Mr. Esmaeil Baghaei Hamaneh
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran
44th Session of the Human Rights Council
Item 3: Report of the Special Rapporteur on
extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions
(Document A/HRC/44/38)
Geneva, 9 July 2020
بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم
Thank you Mr. Vice President,
Thank you Madam Special Rapporteur,
Mr. Vice President,
Ghasem Soleimani, a great Iranian soldier of mythical elegance, a true defender of human rights and dignity against subjugation, occupation and DAESH terrorism, was brutally assassinated by the most arrant of the earth men. His assassination was brutal, arbitrary, unjust and unlawful. It was an international crime of grave nature threatening the international peace and security, too.
DAESH was the first to rejoice along with the Israeli regime. What an evil triangle!
The assassination of General Soleimani and his companions, while on an official visit to the sovereign State of Iraq, was not only an outrageous violation of international law and the UN Charter but also of universal human rights law. Only armed bandits and terrorists, not the official armed forces of a State, could commit such a cowardly murder.
The Special Rapporteur has concluded, based on her understanding of her mandate, that the targeting of General Soleimani constituted an arbitrary killing for which the US is responsible. She also concluded that the strike was in violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter. That conclusion cannot be challenged by any law or logic. The unlawfulness of the act and its absolute barbarity is obvious. There remains no doubt as to the culpability of the US government as well as the personal criminal responsibility of those involved. The US and the States that hosted US drones operations bear responsibility and must be held to account for this lawless behavior and criminal act.
Mr. Vice President,
Notwithstanding the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, ‘arbitrary killing’ seems to be too light a term to use for such a flagrantly unlawful, viciously immoral and recklessly dangerous killing. Calling this appalling ‘act of State terrorism’ ‘extrajudicial execution’ or the like, should not be misconstrued as to misjudge the gravity and seriousness of the illegality of the act.
The US direct responsibility under international law for this unlawful arbitrary assassination should not be let eclipsed by distorted facts and false narratives. No fact, law or logic should be allowed to be abusively invoked to justify this unjust callous murder.
The United Nations and its human rights mechanisms are fairly expected to urgently sound the alarm over the dire consequences of this blatant infringement of basic tenets of humanity, civility, law and order.
Mr. Vice President,
“It is hard to imagine that a similar strike against a Western military leader would not be considered an act of war”, the Special Rapporteur has asserted. For Iranians, this murder is more than that, though; General Solimani symbolized a sovereign State and embodied the soul and spirit of a proud nation determined to resist and thrive. His arbitrary murder injured a whole nation and wounded their spirit. The manner he was murdered and the character of the killers were all further testaments to the moral justness of his cause.
It was only one more instance of the American long list of cruel hostility against the Iranian nation dating back to 1953 coup d’état, repeated during Saddam’s aggressive war including by providing chemical weapons to that regime, and which continues up to now by inhumane economic terrorism.
Mr. Vice President,
General Soleimani lived a hero and died a martyr. He is now an inspiring legend and will remain a living nightmare for his killers. After all, you cannot dry up a deeply earthed pure tree by cutting its branches.
I thank you.